Jharkhand CM tests corona negative, Shibu shifted to hospital

Ranchi, Aug 24 (IANS) Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and his wife Kalpana tested negative for coronavirus on Monday, even as his father and Rajya Sabha MP Shibu Soren was shifted to a hospital after his condition worsened.

Hemant Soren and his Cabinet colleagues are in home isolation after Health Minister Banna Gupta tested coronavirus positive last week, a few hours after attending a Cabinet meeting.

Three Ministers have so far tested positive in the state, apart from seven legislators and two ex-Ministers.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha President Shibu Soren had tested positive along with his wife Rupi Soren on Saturday last.

The CM and his wife have so far undergone tests three times each. Hemant Soren and his wife opted for the tests for the first time after both Drinking Water Minister Mithlesh Thakur and JMM MLA Mathura Prasad Mahto tested corona positive.

They underwent tests the second time when more than 20 staff at the Chief Minister’s Office and residence, including a driver and a few security personnel, tested positive.

Jharkhand has recorded more than 31,000 cases of coronavirus, including 323 fatalities.

–IANS

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